Team USA!
It's been a while since our last update, and so I wanted to fill you in on the latest updates coming from the last 2 BoG meetings.
Probably the most exciting development, and one that's linked to an issue even that has been discussed even more than voice unicom, is the continually deteriorating pilot quality on the network. Well, after significant discussion, VATSIM is nearly ready to roll out an exciting new opportunity for our members. Controllers, when faced with a pilot that is truly not cooperative or able to fly properly, and a Supervisor is not able to assist the pilot, will now have the ability to remove pilots from the network (temporarily, of course, for 15 minutes). The .pilothelp command has completed beta testing and will be ready to launch effective May first (for which I'm sure a lot of controllers will be doing a May Day dance (flowers optional!). The correct syntax of the command will be .pilothelp XXX123 Short description of the pilot deviation (where XXX123 is the pilot's callsign. The affected pilots will then be disconnected from the network with a brief explanation that they have been disconnected, by whom (for increased controller accountability), the short text description of the violation, and a final statement encouraging the pilot to review the PRC and invest in pilot training through the PTD program. It is important to note that, in order to prevent against abuses, every time the command is used, all pertinent details will be logged to the network, and an email will be sent to both the VATSIM Vice President of Pilot Training, the VATSIM Vice President of Conflict Resolution, and the VATSIM Office Of Pilot Services. This is to both prevent against abuses as well as to get the pilots the training and services they need to be better trained and equipped to fly on the network in the future.
I know there are a lot of built-in protections here, and I caution you all very strongly now to use the command sparingly, perhaps very sparingly. As I mentioned, emails get sent out to very high levels right away, your information is logged, and statistics will be tracked monthly looking for abuses. And abusers, after one warning, will also be subject to disciplinary action, including suspension and permanent removal from VATSIM. These protections were required (and smart, frankly) to guard against potential abuses of the system.
Many of you will be excited to know that the voice unicom proposal is indeed moving along nicely (though not fast enough for most peoples' desires, I'm sure!). One of the features will be the addition of TWO frequencies -- Unicom on 122.8, and Multicom on 123.45 for pilot-to-pilot coordination and general chit-chat. This was important, as one of the tougher pieces of discussion was regarding many pilots' penchants for carrying on irrelevant discussion on unicom. As long as folks use the correct frequency, this should no longer be a concern. Again, on the subject of checks and balances, one important check and balance is that each transmission will be recorded, time-stamped, and saved for 30 days in the event of a potential disciplinary investigation. So pilots should not feel free to fly around dropping f-bombs on Unicom or on Multicom; this will all be recorded along with timestamp, GPS location, callsign, CID and a list of everyone in the Unicom/Multicom voice channel so witness statements can be collected. Although, as you can tell, significant progress has been made, a formal implementation date is not yet available, as the recording systems have not yet completed beta testing.
I'm glad to be able to give a quick glimpse into these improvements. This communication is certainly not meant to be an all-inclusive briefing on the new systems; those will be coming from VATSIM as the time gets closer. I'm sure there will be a million questions. Some I may be able to answer, many I may not. For those folks that are already somewhat aware, hang tight, I'd like to answer all the initial questions in one coordinated reply response so we don't have a million threads coming out of this post. I'm away for the weekend with my family, so I'll do my best to answer what I can later tonight, but we're seeing a Broadway show tonight and I'm honestly not sure what time I'll be able to respond, and if it's not today, it will be tomorrow. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and prepare for these exciting and truly beneficial improvements!
